Back in the spring of 2011, LouisianaVoice predicted that higher premiums and reduced benefits would by the immediate by-product of privatization of the Office of Group Benefits Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).

The administration initially—but only temporarily—proved us wrong by reducing premiums as the lead-in to contract with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana as the third party administrator for the PPO.

If we wished to be vain about that move, we could have said that Gov. Bobby Jindal made that move just to prove us wrong. But it wasn’t nearly as simple as that; there was, in fact, a far more sinister reason for the premium reduction.

Because the state pays 75 percent of state employees’ premiums, cutting those premiums reduced the financial obligation to the state, thus allowing Jindal to divert money that normally would have gone to health care for some 230,000 state employees, retirees and dependents to instead be used to plug gaping holes in what has become an annual budget shortfall, thanks to slipshod management of state finances by the governor.

The recent developments pertaining to impending radical changes that will force eligible retirees onto Medicare and out of Group Benefits are not about who is right and who is wrong; it’s about people. It’s about people like you and me (yes, I’m a state retiree who is one of the lucky ones who is eligible for Medicare by virtue of my hire date after April 1, 1986 and by virtue of some 25 years of newspaper reporting work in the private sector).

In all the rhetoric coming out of the office of Kristy Nichols, the people she and her boss serve appear to be the forgotten element as Jindal has become a 100 percent absentee governor while he chases the impossible dream of becoming POTUS.

Tragically, retirees with no private sector experience and who began with the state prior to April 1, 1986, are ineligible for Medicare and the steep premium increases looming on the near horizon—open enrollment is Oct. 1 through Oct. 31—can mean only one thing for them: financial devastation. A new premium increase to go with the one that took place on July 1 is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, placing an additional financial burden on enrollees.

Of course, if you look back, you will see how the administration fed us a string of outright lies in 2011. Thanks to loyal reader Kay Prince of Ruston, we have a copy of a letter written by then-Commissioner of Administration and who later served as Jindal’s Chief of Staff until his unexpected resignation last March which can only be described as a laundry list of lies to state employees and retirees.

ALEC, of course, is the acronym for the American Legislative Exchange Council, the non-profit political arm of the Koch brothers and the Walton Family of Wal-Mart fame. ALEC, which drafts “model bills” for its member legislators to take back home for passage, includes sweeping changes to health care benefits for public employees as one of its primary objectives.

While we don’t normally advocate political boycotts, perhaps state employees should give serious consideration to a complete boycott of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club as a response to the ALEC-inspired medical benefit cuts you are about to experience. A word or two to friends and relatives might not be a bad idea either.

For a comprehensive look at the ALEC agenda as it pertains to medical benefits, go here:

Girod Jackson (D-Marrero), who was charged with fraud and failure to file taxes, resigned and is no longer in the legislator and it is our understanding that Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe) is no longer a member of ALEC.

And certainly, let’s not forget that until recently, BCBS was a member in good standing of ALEC and BCBS was listed as a member of ALEC’s Health and Human Services Task Force and ponied up $10,000 for a “Director” level sponsorship of ALEC’s annual conference held in New Orleans at which Jindal received the organization’s Thomas Jefferson Award. BCBS of Louisiana paid an additional $5,000 and served as a “Trustee” level sponsor of that 2011 conference.

Despite all the spin from Kristy Nichols, the Aug. 11 report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget by the Legislative Fiscal Office paints a much truer picture of what’s in store for members.

As a barometer of just how serious the proposed changes are and the impact they will have on members, House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, apparently in response to the request of State Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite) is apparently willing to buck Boss Jindal and call a special meeting of the House as a Committee of the Whole as reported here by the Baton Rouge Advocate’s Marsha Shuler: http://theadvocate.com/home/10100116-123/house-group-benefits-meeting-possible

Undaunted, Nichols trudges on like a good soldier. Today, state employees arrived at work to find emails, mass distributed via the state’s “Bulletin Board,” attempting to address the “incorrect” information “distributed over the last few weeks” regarding the anticipated health insurance changes.

Basically, she denied all negative information, threw up administration smoke screens, made lame excuses and (ho-hum, yawn) blaming the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which has absolutely nothing to do with the Office of Group Benefits.

While Kristy rants that premium increases will be negligible (if one can consider a 47 percent bump negligible), we would remind her it’s not about the premiums; it’s about the benefits. It’s about the co-pays. It’s about the deductibles. Kristy, you can’t ignore the elephant in the room indefinitely.

As state workers peruse Kristy’s latest missive, it is important to refer back to the aforementioned Paul Rainwater letter of April 29, 2011, to get a quick refresher as to just how capable the administration is of clouding an issue with misinformation and outright lies.

They lied then so what’s to keep them from lying now?

The fact is the Jindal administration, what’s left of it, does not nor has it ever cared about the welfare of state employees.

Jindal is joined at each hip by his former—and only—private sector employer McKinsey & Co. on one side and ALEC on the other and both have the same agenda: the destruction of working Americans in favor of ever increasing corporate profits. Together, they guide each and every step Jindal takes.

McKinsey & Co., it should be noted, is also a member of ALEC and is the same company that once consulted General Motors into bankruptcy, advised AT&T there was no future in the cell phone market and which structured the corporate plan for Enron.

These are the ones who are maneuvering to control the health care future of 230,000 state employees, retirees and dependents.

Only last November, the state flirted with McKinsey & Co. for the purposes of retaining the firm to put together a Business Reengineering/Efficiencies Planning and Management Support Services proposal.

Apparently Jindal opted to go with the less expensive Alvarez & Marcel (A&M) for that contract that has grown from $4.2 million to $7.5 million for A&M to find $500 million in savings over a 10-year period.

But McKinsey did submit a 406-page proposal and a two-page cover letter to Ruth Johnson of the Division of Administration (DOA) which LouisianaVoice has obtained.

Much of McKinsey & Co.’s proposal was redacted by DOA before its release to us—including every word in the proposal dealing with health benefits.

That’s correct. Not a single word about health benefits as proposed by McKinsey was readable. Skip down to page 37 for the redacted health benefits section to see what we mean.

42 Responses

The devastation comes not so much from the comparatively modest premium increases but from the horrendous increases in co-pays, deductibles, lifetime exclusions, and the like. Changes in these areas are increasing plan participant annual out-of-pocket costs to virtually incalculable levels.

AMEN!!! I’ve calculated what the reduced benefits + increased premiums + increased co-pays + deductibles will mean for my husband and I. This is going to cost us to the tune of over $4K/year! That is based on our existing health status. Heaven help us if any surprises crop up next year!

The way it’s phrased, I’m not sure whether you’re saying Kostelka is “no longer a member” refers to the ALEC or the legislature. He is a friend of mine from law school days and I sat at a table with him yesterday at an LSU Law Alumni Luncheon for graduates of over 51 years. I happened to ask him how much longer he had as a Senator and he said, “one year and then I’ll term out.”

Former ALEC member, governor, Bobby Jindal mentor (and, lest we forget, TV welder) Mike Foster said, in an LPB interview years ago, he considered state employees to be about the same as welfare recipients. I think that pretty much sums up his legacy in that regard and it appears to be an opinion shared by his protégé’ and his protégé’s former and only private sector employer.

I couldn’t type here what MY opinion of Mike Foster is, let alone mine of his “whiz kid protege” because it couldn’t be printed. I worked for the State for more than 33 years, and I can personally say that there has never been a governor who did more damage to State employees and their livelihoods than this one in office now. And contrary to some of the arrogant and downright rude comments heard and that I’ve seen posted on the Advocate website and so many other places, I, my family members who work/worked for the State, and the MAJORITY of other State employees with whom I worked over the years are/were very diligent, conscientious individuals who EARNED their compensation. But let me tell you from personal experience, you might be very surprised to learn that State employees were/are treated worse than dirt by a great number of people with whom they do business with/render services to every day. For reasons too complex to go into here, some State employees are compensated fairly decently, some are paid very well, but the majority of us received decent wages at best, and upon retirement, you’ll gross approx. 70% of that. I’m great at budgeting, but when you have very little to work with, have not gotten cost of living increases for years, developing major health issues, and the cost of living/inflation eating you alive daily brings you to a state of true despair, only to learn that it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

You are correct, JB Broussard, that that option was finally presented in 2005. However, one must pay into Medicare for a minimum of 10 years in order to be able to draw benefits. Do the math – most of those hired prior to 1986 had less than 10 years left to work before retirement. Yes, on the surface, it appears that those employees could opt to work beyond their minimum retirement timeframe. However, in reality, most of the older workers were basically pushed out of the workforce with these last 2 administrations. With the private sector unemployment rate as it currently is, the odds of the retirees obtaining private sector jobs for 10 years in order to qualify for Medicare and Social Security benefits is minimal. To make matters worse, any Social Security benefits to which these retirees would be entitled would be grossly reduced due to their receiving retirement checks from State government.

I don’t know if anyone may pay attention to the # of subscribers to this blog’s postings, but the number has increased by about 100 in the last two weeks alone!! If Jindal and crew keep doing what they’re doing, Tom and C. B. will become the MSM with the more “traditional” sources of news becoming secondary outlets. Hey, had to find some silver lining to all this chaos, huh?

Louisiana Voice has already left the MSM in the dust as far as news about state government. I don’t think Jindal, et al have to worry too much about what the major papers are going to say each morning, but with LV, there’s no telling. LV is a serious impediment to these guys getting away with screwing the citizens. God bless you, and C.B., for that.

A lot of good this will do us if we have to choose between food or medication. We may as well be in the welfare line where foster and jitler wanted us 15 years ago. Thanks for letting us know what we have to look forward to Tom!

We are not going to go quietly like lambs to the slaughter, and just do nothing while we await our destruction. Every one of us has a right and responsibility to take action, voice our opinions to our state legislators, the MSM, keep posting here (the bad guys are reading every word, believe that), send your experiences and inside information to the FBI Public Corruption Unit athttps://tips.fbi.gov/

We need to organize an event to draw attention to this debacle, inform the general public why those in the private sector are also being ripped off by theft of the OGB reserves; remind the medical community that their bottom line will suffer when a quarter of a million people will have to ration their healthcare; join the government employees’ union – AFSCME at 225.927.2800, 429 Government St., BR, LA 70802 . AFSCME is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees with 1.6 million members in the U.S. Not many in Louisiana.

We need to get a legal team involved and get some class action suits going to recover the stolen reserve funds and also to enjoin Piyush from going forward with his long-planned rape of state employees. First – cancel open enrollment due to the deliberate bad faith involved.

Put all legislators on notice that We the People are holding them responsible for their role in this criminal activity through their complicity, and we are expecting them to step up, stop the train and put things to right or be sent home by the voters.

Time to impeach the absentee governor for his refusal to govern or even stay home in the state (payroll fraud here, taking his salary and not doing his job), for misappropriating public funds in every reserve account and trust fund in the state, not balancing the budget, which is unconstitutional AND becoming a wackadoodle with his insane lawsuit against the feds- remember where that landed Gov. Earl Long – Southeast LA Mental Hospital in Mandeville. Oh dear, Piyush closed it! Ain’t there no more.

Time to stop being passive and rise up and take action. Tom Aswell, Bob Mann, C.B Forgotson, Jason/Crazy Crawfish and others are proving reams of information. Time for the rest of us o to use it.

When you see an article like this one below that tries to portray lil booby as a “policy wonk” and you see a quote like this one about him, you need to contact MSBNC, the writer or add comments when that’s an option. The quote:

In the end, sources say, it’s Jindal’s healthcare experience and ideas that will be key to 2016.

“He knows more about health care than any elected official in the country,” strategist Mark McKinnon said.

earthmother is right, time to organize and do something, I am in 100% I was hoping to retire in January but with these increases I probably won’t be able to. No name please but if someone can get the ball rolling I want to be involved

earthmother is right, we have to do something, I have been saying for years we need to stand up, be heard maybe have a sit in or a sick out. There is strenght in numbers and we are big enough to stand together and do something, anything,. State employees have never united for anything, it’s time people.

B.M., I think you hit the nail on the head. As massively disruptive as it would be, a sickout where everyone in ALL departments chose to call in sick would freeze this state and force the little weasel out to explain his actions. The only reason a person goes to work for the state is the security of a comfortable retirement as they know going in the pay is less than the private sector, Swidal’s private circle excluded. This would also let the general citzenry know just how catastrophic Swindal has been to the public sector. Let’s see if all his $100 K overpaid, out of state part timers, could keep the doors open and what kind of positive spin that Nichols, who one state worker refers to as Jindal’s little hell whore, could put on this. Methinks lil Booby may have a smoking powder keg in his hands.

I would like to know what healthcare plans Jindal and his cronies have. I have nothing against being wealthy, but I know many of them are paid massive salaries in their civil service jobs, so I would imagine they can afford far better plans than rank and file employees and retirees can thru OGB.

Since Bobby is governor, would this information be available to the public? I would seriously like to see HIS healthcare right beside ours when this is mentioned in the news.

Unless they’re covered under a spouse or carrying their own, they have the same state options as regular state employees. In general, however, they make considerably more than the average state worker.

Got to love in the recent PR attempt sent out. In the FAQ in support of how minimal the change in cost will be, Kristi McNutty points to a $500 increased charge due to the new HMO deductible. JUST $500. I suppose that is peanuts when you’re pulling in 6 figures.

The whole OGB plan of destruction began under Governor Mike Foster who at the request of the insurance industry changed the OGB Board from a policy board into an advisory board with NO POWER to stop the rape and pillage of Louisiana’s most cost effective and efficient state agency. Paul Rainwater,
Liar in Chief for boy wonder couldn’t understand what was going on and was absolutely foolish when trying to explain it. He just made up what he did say because saying that the plan was to destroy OGB wouldn’t sound good. And, by the way, where is Paul now?

Most people are not interested in issues such as the destruction of OGB because they think that it doesn’t effect them personally. Well if that person is a state taxpayer he or she is dead wrong. Blue Cross wanted that business because there is a world of profit to be made in a huge book of business like Louisiana’s State employee and Teachers health insurance. Seventy-five percent of the premiums are paid with State tax dollars.
Remember that OGB was providing good size increases in reserves while keeping premiums below market levels. The State benefitted from the effective management of the agency as it will now suffer the extreme profits of Blue Cross in the coming years.
Additionally, employees and teachers and especially retirees who don’t have Medicare since the State didn’t participate will be going broke trying to meet co-pays and deductibles. Most citizens don’t know that the State still doesn’t participate in Social Security, exacerbating the plight of retirees.
We get what we ask for sometimes, in this case a governor who loves big business more than the people he serves

I am a retiree and will soon by 60 years old. So, obviously I can’t get Medicare through my husband for 5 more years. Fortunately, I am very healthy and seldom go to the doctor, except for recommended screenings, like a mammogram. What I would like to know as soon as anyone finds out is the monthly cost for retirees without Medicare. I am afraid that I might not be able to afford insurance if it’s exorbitant; or, I will have to go back to work to be able to pay the premiums. I have written to my State Representative, Franklin Foil, and my State Senator, Dan Claitor. I eagerly await their responses.

I have Medicare as primary, OGB (BCBS) as secondary. Once I became Medicare eligible, OGB switched my prescription coverage to Medicare GenerationRx. Like you, I’m healthy and don’t go to the doctor unless I have to. I have one prescription I take on a regular basis that, under the previous prescription plan cost me NOTHING (because I talked to a health coach every couple of months). Now I pay $50/month for that prescription and the only other prescriptions I’ve had to get had similarly high co-pays. But, If I spend ONLY an additional $4,244.85 out-of-pocket by December 31, I will move to the next level where my co-pays will be less. What a deal, right? If I spend another $4,000+ I will still pay more in co-pays for prescriptions than I would if I was not in Medicare. Add to this the fact I now pay over $100/month to Medicare for Part B, but my BCBS premiums were only reduced by about $54 per month.

And remember, I am in Medicare, and this is before any of the new changes yet to come.

Thanks for enlightening me. I was operating under an obviously false assumption that when we signed up for Medicare, then our OGB premium decrease at least enough to offset the cost of the Medicare Premiums. But, if I am understanding you correctly, it does not. So in effect, you are paying more for you insurance when you sign up for Medicare?

Thanks again, we have a very mediocre MSM, they just don’t cover much Jindal news unless its a photo -op, or fluff piece, they have given the Edmondson issue a glancing blow in coverage, but nothing like they should be doing. The sad part about it is that many of the retirees who are affected by this scam, do not have internet, and therefore do not know the extent of the damage. My Senator, which would be Robert Adley, has not made a peep, that I am aware of, however I may have missed it………

I am not old enough to have Medicare yet but I have had heart bypass surgery, another bypass in my back, PAD and Lung cancer. I have to go to 5 specalist twice a year and I don’t even know how many pills I take a day. While I was taking Chemo that was 3 times every three weeks for 6 months x a $15.00 co pay, after the Chemo was finished I had to go to the doctor every month for 2 years, how are people who get cancer or other serious illinesses going to stay alive if they have to pay all this doubled?

Ms. McCarter, Unfortunately Jindal et al have answered the question posed in your last sentence by their actions, and the answer is: “That’s not our problem, that’s your problem, deal with it.”

Your situation sounds very, very difficult, and I hope it takes a turn for the better. People need to hear about these situations, to remind people that running a government is about more than money. Disseminating your story is in itself a weapon in the good fight for good government.

Don’t know if this will help anybody, but I’ve copied & pasted the letter I sent to Jindal in case somebody else wants to just use it as an example to write your own. I also wrote every single member of the Legislature saying basically the same thing. I don’t have a lot of time to provide help because I not only have personal health issues but am also the family caretaker. But I will help in any way I can. STATE RETIREES & EMPLOYEES, WE MUST UNITE & DO SOMETHING – TIME IS GROWING SHORT!

I know this letter is probably just a waste of my time which I have precious very little of, but I, and my fellow State employees and retirees, are being faced with changes that, if implemented, will not only financially devastate the majority of State employees and PARTICULARLY RETIREES, but they will also render us unable to maintain any semblance of decent health or quality of life, particularly those of us over the age of 60 who have multiple health problems with which to contend. And those of us who do not have Medicare, as I understand it, will be even more deeply affected.
I have no doubt that it’s very hard for you to put yourself in the place of those of us who fit into the lower middle income or just plain lower income bracket. Please don’t waste your time or mine by trying to make me believe the hype your office staff keeps distributing through the media about how great these atrocious changes will be because they WON’T be. The changes implemented effective August 1, 2014, by OGB are already having a seriously adverse impact on many of us. If you think that statement is not correct or an exaggeration, just have your staff call any of your local pharmacies and ask them about the problems being encountered by innocent, hard-working people who worked all their lives to be able to maintain some semblance of decent health only to find now that we can’t afford the very medicines which would make that possible.
I only have personal knowledge of the agency for which I worked and from which I retired, but with the exception of the engineers and a few select other classifications of employees in that agency, the rest of us have to live on a quite limited income because our salaries were not very high to begin with, we weren’t getting cost of living increases, and when you become a retiree, that calculates to an even fearfully lower net income. We’re not asking for anybody’s pity, we just want to be able to maintain a decent standard of living which includes providable health care for which we worked hard and earned. Due to my own health issues and my family caretaking responsibilities, I admit that I am not very knowledgeable about many things that have occurred and the reasons behind them because I don’t have time to read the newspapers, regularly listen to the news, or stay on the internet. But I do know that part of an employee’s compensation is any portion of an insurance premium paid by the employer on behalf of the employee. The majority of the money that OGB once had in reserve was money that belonged to public employees who are plan members to cover their medical costs. That money was taken and used by you and your administration to balance your budget. Not to mention that these changes are basically the result of the more than $7 million contract that was awarded to a consulting firm which you hired to “save the State money” in health costs.
I and everyone else with whom I spoke was totally opposed to the “privatization” of OGB, and according to published reports from various sources, despite Tommy Teague taking OGB from a $60 million deficit to a $520 million surplus, you insisted upon the privatization which has proven to be a fiscal disaster, and you know it. OGB is now hemmoraghing money, and we are already being forced to pay significantly higher costs for care but GET MUCH LESS CARE/COVERAGE. AND IT WILL GET SIGNIFICANTLY, IMPOSSIBLY WORSE FOR THOSE OF US WHO CAN’T AFFORD IT IF YOU ALLOW THESE CHANGES OGB PROPOSES TO BECOME EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2015.
We elected you to “protect” and do what is best for US, the diligent, hard-working citizens of the State of Louisiana which INCLUDES its own employees and retirees. That is why we are RESPECTFULLY IMPLORING YOU TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, GOVERNOR. DON’T ALLOW LA OGB TO IMPLEMENT THIS CRUCIFICATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES. As I stated previously, if you do nothing to stop this, these changes will not only financially devastate the majority of State employees and PARTICULARLY RETIREES, but they will also render us unable to maintain any semblance of decent health or quality of life, particularly those of us over the age of 60 who are besieged by multiple, serious health problems. Please consider that and then decide if you can just stand back and let this happen to the many thousands of us who will be affected by this impending atrocity.

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